


Cradlesong

by Kikimay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Depression, Falling In Love, Family Dynamics, Fix-It, Gen, Godfather!Harry, M/M, Post-Battle of Hogwarts, Secret Relationship, Sleep Disorder
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-17
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-08-23 11:21:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8325826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kikimay/pseuds/Kikimay
Summary: This time, Nymphadora had disappeared leaving something behind: a child, pink and tender, helpless in his cradle. Now Andromeda had to take care of him and Andromeda only wanted to sleep.Set after the Battle of Hogwarts, Andromeda has to take care of her infant grandson Teddy and, surprisingly, of Draco Malfoy. She won't be left alone.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [germankitty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/germankitty/gifts).



> Thank you so much to my beta and thanks to germankitty for her inspiring owl. 
> 
> I really hope you'll like what I did with your suggestions and prompts. I immediately fell in love with the idea of Narcissa and Andromeda reconnecting after the war and my brain started asking questions: what about Andromeda? How is she after the battle? Did she even want to talk to Narcissa?
> 
> I wanted to *know* more and I ended up developing her character a little bit more than what should be allowed in a Draco/Harry fest, probably. But I hope you find this angle interesting and I hope all the readers can enjoy the romance between our boys alongside the story of a very strong woman.

 

She saw her approaching through the window, over the worn curtains that Dora detested so much. She was walking along the path that led from the garden to the secondary entrance of her sister’s house; a black and silvery dress waving in the wind, her blond hair perfectly coiffed, the haughty bearing of a proper Black daughter.

Andromeda grabbed her wand and ran towards her. She hit Narcissa twice. The first curse on her left side, right on the abdomen, so powerful that she had to lose balance. The second on the knee, making her collapse in the wet mud.

“Next time I’ll strike you to the heart!” Andromeda warned.

Narcissa’s beautiful dress was soiled and torn, her eyes filled with unleashed tears.

*

When Nymphadora fell, Andromeda was at home, her new-born grandson in her arms and some milk to be heated on the stove. She didn’t realise that her daughter had run away through the window in her room, she hadn’t notice that she was left alone.

Nymphadora, wand in hand and shiny Auror coat, had adopted the adolescent ploy that used to enrage her parents, especially her mother. 

After a childhood marked by iron discipline, Andromeda couldn’t bear to punish her daughter but, at the same time, couldn’t be completely indulgent towards her. After the joints of a fourteen Dora, Andromeda used to retire in the kitchen, prepare some tea and remain silent for the next few hours.

This time, Nymphadora had disappeared leaving something behind: a child, pink and tender, helpless in his cradle. Now Andromeda had to take care of him and Andromeda only wanted to sleep.

*

Harry James Potter was an eighteen-year-old young man, not much taller than her, with big green eyes and a square jaw that gave him a manly appearance, despite the flush on his cheeks betrayed a boyish embarrassment.

Clinging to a chipped cup of tea, he spoke.

“Before he left, Remus came to visit me at Shell Cottage and appointed me as Teddy’s godfather. I don’t know if he ever mentioned that to you, but he came and did it, so … it’s _my job_ to take care of Teddy. I don’t want to disappoint them, Remus and Nymphadora,” he explained, uncertain. “It’s just a bit difficult because I’ve never taken care of anyone or anything and when I did … I don’t have a very good background on taking care of people, you know. But I want to help.”

“I’ll show you the baby’s room,” Andromeda sighed, rising from the table and going slowly towards the corridor.

Harry was behind instantly.

“Mrs. Tonks, there’s something else …”

*

The Wizengamot, in his venerable members’ infinite wisdom, had determined that, given the age of the accused at the time of the events, Draco Malfoy had to be assigned to one year of re-education program.

Specifically, considered the terrible ideologies he was exposed from his early childhood by the immediate family, young Malfoy would have benefit from a more appropriate familiar contact. The one of his maternal aunt, Andromeda Tonks, and his baby cousin, Edward, son of the war heroes Nymphadora and Remus Lupin.

It was in the conviction of the court that healthier family ties would help young Malfoy’s atonement.

*

“Come in,” Andromeda sighed, opening the Floo for her sister’s son.

The boy was the same age as Harry Potter, but taller than him. He displayed a funereal pallor and a more controlled attitude. At the first meeting with his aunt, he turned up in trousers and shirt, Muggle clothes. Silently, he was waiting to be introduced into little Teddy’s room.

“It was explained to you what to do? What are the cleaning spells and the ones to help him calm down?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Have you ever babysit a baby, Malfoy?”

“I have never.”

“You’ll learn,” Andromeda said, exhaling a weary sigh. “I’m in the other room. I’d like to rest for few hours, it was a busy day. Do familiarise with your cousin. He’s an exceptionally placid boy, he won’t bother you.”

Draco nervously looked around, then nodded.

He reached the cradle near a window and bent slightly, to spy on the little creature who slept there.

“One last thing, boy.”

“Yes, Mrs. Tonks.”

“Never mention Narcissa’s name in this house.”

*

After the preliminary hearing, Narcissa Malfoy was confined to the solitude of Malfoy Manor and Lucius had been sent to Azkaban, in a special surveillance regime awaiting for the next phases of the biggest process of Wizard History.

Andromeda had bought a new sofa, more comfortable than the previous one, on which she spent her days sleeping.

*

Narcissa’s name, however, was pronounced during a rainy afternoon, when Harry Potter was lingering in his godson’s room, to show all the Muggle toys he had bought for him.

Draco was in the kitchen, preparing tea. Andromeda had just awakened from a dreamless sleep that made her feel even more tired.

“Mrs. Tonks,” young Malfoy said, placing a steaming cup on the table, accustomed to ignore the appearance and strange sleeping habits of his aunt. “I know you warned me not to talk about her and I don’t wish to receive a curse on my side, but I must tell you that Mother …”

“Your mother,” Andromeda sighed, straightening her back between cushions. “She brought you here, once. You could have had four or five years, you were a pretty child, obviously spoiled by your parents,” she reminded, driving out a shapeless mass of blacks curls over her forehead. “I remember you devoured the cookies I had prepared that day. They were made with wild berries and cream stuffing, Dora’s favourites. You loved them, so I gave you a couple to take home. You were my first and only nephew, I really wanted to … to know you, to take care of you … but when your mother came she had you throw the cookies in the garden. And that was it.”

“I didn’t … I didn’t know … I don’t remember.”

“You were little. You didn’t came here anymore.”

“I’m sorry.”

“And that was what your mother did,” Andromeda said, lifting her impenetrable eyes. “I was her sister.”

“Mrs. Tonks …”

“Mrs. Tonks!” Harry said, rushing into the kitchen. He was holding a whining, reddish Teddy. “I think Teddy isn’t feeling well. Maybe we should take him to St. Mungo’s or something …”

“Is he feverish?”

“I have no idea … I don’t …”

Andromeda scanned for the forgotten wand in a corner of the kitchen. Then she looked at her grandson.

“Yes, you should take him to St. Mungo’s. Perhaps he just need a Pepper-up potion.”

“I know a Healer who could look at him,” Malfoy intervened. “As long as you want … trust me,” he concluded, slightly uncertain.

A strange light lit his grey eyes, a liquid glow.

Harry opened his mouth to speak, before refraining as stopped by a sudden thought.

“Sure,” he finally stammered. “If you say that he’s reliable. We really need help,” he said, swinging Teddy who wouldn’t stop crying.

“It was my Healer as a child. He always took good care of me, he would never do anything dangerous …”

“Okay, okay. We have to hurry, I feel like Teddy’s getting worse …”

“Of course,” Draco murmured, holding out his arms to receive the child.

Harry looked at him again, inquisitively. Finally he deposited his screaming godson against Draco’s chest and departed from him with a long, hesitating caress, before covering his back with a blanket. Draco’s cheeks flushed as those of the feverish child.

“We go then, Mrs. Tonks. You agree, right? We can bring Teddy to this Healer?”

Andromeda felt levy from the effects of her prolonged torpor.

“Yes, sure. Be careful,” she only recommended, looking at the boys who disappeared from her kitchen soon enough.

She sat back on the sofa, closing her tired eyes. 

*

They Apparated in a windy road, surrounded by cypresses. Harry looked around bewildered and pressed a hand against his chest to search for Teddy, but the baby was in Draco’s arms.

“Where we are? This place isn’t …”

“Please,” Draco whispered, giving him a begging look. “Please, trust me.”

*

Teddy’s illness lasted seven days. During that time frame, September started and so the lessons at Hogwarts. Draco and Harry, however, were granted a special permission to visit the baby and take care of him, alternating each other day and night.

Occasionally one boy caught the other, asleep in front of the rocking cradle, with a finger in the child’s fist.

They didn’t spoke much in those moments, between the changing of the guard, but they learned to greet each other with kind gestures, steaming cups of tea and blankets to ward off the chills caused by the awakening.

Most important of all – Andromeda had noticed – they touched themselves as they were the children in need of care and affection.

*

“Mrs. Tonks, I bought the milk,” Draco announced, making space in the small kitchen.

“Thanks,” she murmured, stretching her arms.

Teddy had slept well all night. It was a pleasure to wake him in the morning.

“Is there Harry around or …”

“He arrived a few minutes ago. He had a quite difficult task for the Defence Against the Dark Arts class, or so he told me. You should know better, since you both attend the same year.”

“Defence. Yes, I’ve heard.”

“Are you not taking that class?”

“I … I’m still waiting for my permanent schedule. The eighth year is crucial for a wizard’s formation and I’m considering a few possibilities.”

“Did you talk to your teachers? With Minerva?”

“Yes, it’s just a bit complicated.”

Andromeda nodded.

“When is it not?” she replied, offering a smile.

Over time, she had learned to appreciate the qualities of young Draco, his personality. He was still a bit arrogant and soaked in Pureblood nonsense, but he also possessed a quite peculiar sense of humour, great creativity and a veiled insecurity that compensated his ostentatious Malfoy attitude.

He was not irritating, as he initially seemed to be, and Andromeda started to like him as much as Harry.

“It’s been so long, Mrs. Tonks, and I’d like to ask you if …”

The boy didn’t have the time to finish his sentence that Andromeda felt a presence in the garden and came out brandishing her fir wand, which was immediately pointed at her sister.

“Andy, please. I come in peace,” Narcissa said, raising her hands. “Please.”

Faster than her, Draco had run to shield his mother and even the Chosen One was there to defend Narcissa.

“Mrs. Tonks, please!”

“Please, please!” young Malfoy echoed,

Andromeda relaxed her arm and returned to the house.

*

“We brought Teddy to Mrs. Malfoy because no one helped us,” the Chosen One declared, furious with rage but gentle with the boy he was holding. Teddy whimpered against his chest. “He was sick and I didn’t know what to do … _we_ didn’t know what to do and you weren’t helpful. At all. I’m sorry, but that’s the truth.”

Draco was sitting next to his mother, a hand upon hers and the vigilant posture of a wizard who feared a sudden attack. His gaze, however, was all directed to Harry. He was absorbing his words as balm.

“I'm so sorry, Mrs. Tonks. I’m sorry to tell you this,” the Chosen One muttered.

He pressed his lips against Teddy’s hair and looked so sad, scared. A child left alone to save the world, to act as a father, to play the hero.

“Call me Andromeda,” she replied. “It was a reasonable choice, Harry. You did well.”

The boy turned at her, startled. Andromeda almost wanted to console him.

“You’ve been a responsible godfather and I thank you infinitely. You’re an anchor for Teddy and is such a huge burden for you who are only …” the witch paused, took a breath. A huge weight was pressing against her chest, tearing the air from her lungs. She had learned to ignore that weight, but not to cast it out altogether, and sometimes it was tiring even to live with it.

“The contempt I feel for my sister …” she said, turning to Narcissa, who was staring at her silently. “It has nothing to do with you, children. I’m very grateful to have you here with me and I do appreciate everything you’re doing for us, me and Teddy. I just need to talk alone with my sister.” 

*

They entered the bathroom upstairs and closed the door behind them.

Narcissa stood by the doorway, beside the perfumes shelf. Her white robe shone in the morning light. Andromeda sat on the edge of the tub, bent with fatigue.

“I wish you were dead,” she began, flatly. “I wish you died instead of my daughter, who was so young and fought on the right side. I wish your husband was dead instead of mine, who was the only one who took care of me in these years. Do you remember Ted?”

“I do.”

“He’s dead.”

“I know, I’m sorry.”

Andromeda bent even more, like a willow tree shaken by the wind, and pressed a fist against her breast.

“I’m alone, so alone. And I hate everything.”

“I know, darling.”

“I hate you most of all, because you abandoned me. You were my family and you abandoned me!”

“Andy …”

“I can’t do this anymore. I’m not strong enough.”

“Oh yes, you are. You are. Allow me to let you remember,” Narcissa whispered, coming towards her.

She helped her older sister take off the black robe she hadn’t changed in days. Then she prepared a warm bath and helped her in, holding the long hair that became a tangle of knots. With the wand, she cut it cleanly, neck length. She poured the shampoo in her hand and started massaging it gently.

“Remember your sixteenth birthday? You cut your hair in an adorable bob. Mother didn’t like it, but it suited you the best.”

“Mother wanted me to be more like Bellatrix.”

“Bellatrix … was Bellatrix. You are you, perfect the way you are.”

They silently enjoyed the bath. Narcissa finished washing her sister’s hair and helped her put on the bathrobe.

“A warm bath won’t fix everything. It’s been years …”

“I know.”

*

September went away in the quiet. Andromeda still slept much more than one should, but Narcissa was in charge of her care and had begun to feed her restorative potions. Mrs. Tonks’ magic was weakened after the losses she suffered, but her core was strong.

Harry and Draco continued to alternate each other in babysitting Teddy. At the end of October, many things were resolved, but not everything.

“For Halloween, this year, Hogwarts will make a special commemoration in honour of war victims and in memory of Harry’s parents …” Draco drawled. He had a deep voice with an aristocratic, almost musical accent. “It’s possible to invite someone, a partner … as for the Yule Ball. It’s embarrassing, truly.”

“Do you think you’re going?” Andromeda asked, her head reclined on the sofa.

Draco raised his eyebrows.

“Not really. As I said, it’s quite embarrassing. They are mixing a dance with a commemoration, which is a disgrace. I’m disappointed in the Headmistress’ taste. To be honest, I’ve always believed she was quite the lady, but what can you predict about Gryffindors? And anyway, I won’t presume that the person I’d like to invite would accept my offer …”

“Who is this person?”

Draco turned around to hide his face.

“It must be sad,” Andromeda continued, closing her eyes. “To desire someone, but to be convinced of his absolute refusal.”

Draco didn’t reply. Harry made his entrance carrying shopping bags. He was flushed and sweaty for bringing them the Muggle way.

“Good morning. I picked Teddy’s robes,” he announced, manoeuvring boxes and envelopes.

Andromeda opened a Madame Malkin’s box, revealing a blue and white jacket.

“For Halloween you’ll be here?” she asked the boy.

“Yeah. I’d like to stay with Teddy. The school is organizing a party and I don’t feel like partying.”

The witch studied Harry’s casual expression and then turned to Draco, who had slightly bowed his head and was staring at Harry like he was trying to learn his secrets.

“You’re always welcome, dear boy. Just remember not to ask too many permissions, I don’t want you to take so many hours to the study.”

“It won’t happen,” he promised.

Andromeda smiled and gave a last look at Draco who, aware of being spied on, flushed in quite a revealing way. She nodded to herself and started to take away the robes.

*

“You should hold him more, Andy. He’s such a lovely boy …”

Andromeda inclined her head on the edge of the tub. Her sister had washed her hair and was now arranging the perfume bottles, chatting about this and that.

“I take care of my nephew.”

“You know what I mean …”

Narcissa gently dropped a cloth near the bath with a wand gesture.

“Teddy’s truly a lovely child.”

“Would Lucius even think that? What happened to your husband anyway?”

Narcissa straightened her back.

“The process is ongoing.”

“You saw him?” Andromeda asked, wiping her dark hair.

“If I said yes, that will bring back your relentless hatred?”

Andromeda fixed her gaze on her younger sister without hesitation.

“Forgive me, Andy.”

“So?”

“Two days ago, in prison.”

“I understand,” the older witch murmured, studying her reflection in the tarnished mirror.

Teddy announced he was awake with a loud shrill.

“You go.”

“Are you quite sure, Andy?”

“Yes.”

Narcissa grabbed her wand and went into the child’s room. She took him in her arms and rocked him easily, chasing away his frightened tears.

Andromeda went downstairs, out in the garden that smelled of frost and mud. She opened the kitchen door and pushed her bare feet in the fresh grass, where snails glided from their reddish shells. The cypresses were swaying in the wind, occasionally bowing their majestic peaks like gentle wizards at the ball.

She gazed at the grey sky and walked until she reached the well that marked the limits of her property, the old Tonks house she inherited through marriage. The sounds of broken branches and hums caught her attention. The witch hid behind a trunk.

She saw them, young Potter and Malfoy, pressed against a tree, locked in a passionate embrace.

Harry was wearing a raggedy sweatshirt, his hair was wet and his neck flushed with sweat. He kept stepping on a pile of twigs to get closer to Draco, who was flattened against the tree.

Their kisses were sloppy and urgent. Draco ran his hands on Harry’s muscular back, on his messy hair. His chin was moistened with saliva, when he broke the kiss to take a panting breath.

“Take it easy … they’ll hear us.”

“Don’t care,” Harry replied, pushing forward with a graceless twitch of his hips.

Draco moaned and shut his eyes as a hand sneaked under his robes.

*

After two days of intense rain, the air was feeling electric.

Andromeda ran barefoot among the tall, shadowy trees, past the ancient oaks that seemed to greet her passage. Ted chased her, a bit impressed by the girl’s speed.

“You’ll cut your feet!”

“Don’t care!”

They reached the water that was reflecting the greying sky and Andromeda took her dress off.

“Dromeda, it’s freezing!”

“Really?”

“You’ll get sick!” Ted screamed, big eyes wide with apprehension.

In Andromeda’s throat an amused laugh gurgled and she pressed her lips against her beloved’s.

“I love when you go all ‘Puff with me. Makes me feel so special.”

“You are special. You’re everything.”

The young witch laughed again, getting closer and closer to the lake shore, teasing her lover with a wicked smile. Ted rushed to undress and pushed away shirt and trousers.

They plunged into the lake together, locked in an embrace. Andromeda shivered at the contact with the cold water and Ted held her tightly, caressing her long soft hair.

“I love you so much, _Dro_.”

“I love you too.”

“I don’t want to spoil your life, I don’t want to ruin your future. You’re a Black and your family …”

“None of that right now,” she ordered, kissing his lips again and again. “I love you. You’re everything that matters to me. You can’t ever spoil my life.”

“What about your parents? And your sisters? They’re going to make this hard enough for you and I don’t want you to suffer …”

“Shush. Just kiss me.”

*

When she woke up the sun had set, the fog had given way to clear skies and bright stars. Andromeda saw them through her window, before going downstairs in the kitchen. From the corridor, she could hear the boys’ voices and Narcissa amusing Teddy with a nursery rhyme.

“Oh Andy, you got up! Dinner is almost ready. Just a moment, if I could just …” and without waiting for an answer, Narcissa pushed the baby in her sister’s arms, slyly smiling.

Andromeda stiffened for a moment. Then Teddy pressed his head into the crook of his grandmother’s neck, fitting like a long missing piece. For the first time in months, the contact was not painful.

“Draco darling, Harry, please have a seat.”

The dinner was pleasant, despite the silent battle of glances between Harry and Draco.

Always intuitive, Narcissa had begun to grasp the strangeness in her son’s hesitation and sometimes she addressed a confused, pleading look to her sister, hoping she was going to ask the right question to explain the mystery.

Which she did, when the dessert was almost over.

“About the Halloween commemoration and dance. It would be nice if you two could attend. I guess it’s not easy, after all that has happened …”

“Mrs. Tonks, please …”

“Aunt Andromeda.”

“Aunt Andromeda,” Draco repeated, straightening his back as a proud wizard. “I don’t need pity or favours.”

“I didn’t mean to offend you,” she replied calmly, turning to Harry who had remained silent. “Mine was just an observation. The war changed a lot of things. I imagine it also changed the dynamics between the Hogwarts students, the personal relationships between some of them and … perhaps, what previously seemed unthinkable, it can now be possible. At least, that’s my hope after enduring every conceivable loss. That we can rebuild and return to being loyal to each other.”

Even in the Chosen One’s eyes was shining a peculiar light that Andromeda recognised immediately.

“Yes.”

“Yes?” Draco asked, hesitating.

Harry turned to him and young Malfoy bowed his face flushed with emotion.

Narcissa raised her eyebrows.

*

“Is that what you want? To have him marry a Pureblood and forget his dreams and desires?”

They were alone, the light of dawn raising over the worn curtains, their wands resting on the sink next to two empty tea cups.

“But it’s Potter, Harry Potter.”

“They love each other.”

“How can you tell?” Narcissa asked.

Andromeda gave her a small smile.

“Lucius won’t be pleased.”

“Is he ever?”

“Andy …”

“Your husband was wrong, you were wrong. I can’t forget what you did,” Andromeda confessed. “But I do think what I said before: there is a chance to rebuild, to forgive. If we are loyal to those we love. You love Draco.”

“More than anything.”

“So let him be happy. That’s the greatest form of loyalty to him.”

Narcissa opened her clear eyes in the shadowy room. She reached out to meet her sister. She found her hand.

*

Teddy was dozing in his wooden cradle, when Andromeda bent down to look at him, to caress his chubby face, his tiny hands gripping the blanket.

“Teddy, my lovely, my darling one …” she sang softly. “I love you so much. I’m so sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m ready now.”

With the index finger, the witch traced the grandchild’s profile, then nestled between the soft strands hair that, without any warning, turned pink.

Andromeda smiled.

“My precious, darling one. Thank you.”

She wished him goodnight with a kiss and heard the boys’ steps in the adjoining bedroom. Careful not to make any noise, she approached the door and opened it a little.

Draco was leading Harry with his hand. On his face uncertainty and desire merged, as he looked at the bed and then turned to Harry. The Chosen One’s expression was serious and yet full of emotion, his Adam’s apple was moving to the rhythm of a quickened heartbeat.

Bravely, Draco leaned towards him and pressed a kiss on his lips, stealing a strangled groan from his young lover’s throat. He put his hands on Harry’s chest and began to unbutton his blue shirt. Harry pressed their foreheads together and stopped Draco’s gestures just to give him a slow full kiss.

A kiss that was different from those Andromeda had spied on in the woods, without the same clumsiness but with equal, if not greater ardour. A kiss from a lover that was worth a promise.

Draco pulled him into a tight embrace, leaning over to whisper words that made them both laugh. He pulled away and lay down on the bed. Harry sat beside him. With the tip of his fingers, he pushed the rebel fringe that obscured a pair of grey eyes and peppered the fluttering eyelids with kisses.

In his gestures, Andromeda recognised the tenderness of a man in love; the enthusiastic grin on Nymphadora’s face, the warmth of her husband Ted.

When Harry took his shirt off and lay above Draco, she let a content sight escape her lips and closed the door.

 

 

 

 


End file.
